


Holiday Hiccup

by FullmetalDevil



Series: Stitched AU Drabbles [2]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Fluff and Humor, They Tried, a little christmas cheer, gone wrong, holiday fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 13:04:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21969769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FullmetalDevil/pseuds/FullmetalDevil
Summary: Christmas had rolled around again and this time Thomas decided to make things extra special when he learns that Benny was excited about Santa Claus.  However, he failed to take note of some key factors about his little toon and things spiral out of control. Santa is about to have a little holiday hiccup when a demon has plans of his own.
Series: Stitched AU Drabbles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1491725
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Holiday Hiccup

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas everyone as this AU is celebrating a full year since it's release. I hope you all are having a joyous time with friends and family.

The holiday season was upon the Connor residence faster then the couple had time to prepare for. Linda was heaven sent as she kept Benny busy for them, the Elementary school teacher asked if Benny could assist her in preparing her students for their winter production alongside Bendy. Both toons were nervous about helping her out at the school and being around so many students but the woman reassured them that they would be fine. The two toons were instrumental in helping the students learn how to sing and dance for their holiday show. The two toons were shy at first but once they became more acquainted with the students and were in charge of their respective talents, they became more confident and took center stage giving Linda a much needed break.

The school day had come to a close as Linda drove the little plushtoon home. Benny was eagerly going over the music that was chosen by the class as he had already begun to teach the children how to sing the different scales before they would begin to sing the actual songs. He hoped that when he got home and if Allison wasn’t busy, that she could help him with his musical homework so he could better teach the students being left in his care.

The vehicle came to a stop and LInda prepared to exit to walk Benny to the door when the toon lightly laid his hand on her arm. “I’m fine. You’re tired and still have to drive home.” he smiled at her. “I can let myself in.”

A tired appreciative smile crossed Linda’s face. “Thank you. Tell Allison I said ‘hi’. '' She brought Benny into a one arm hug.

“I will!” the toon happily chirped before waving goodbye to Bendy and closed the door behind himself.

Benny trotted to the doorway which was already decorated with red and white garland making the pillars look like giant candy canes while a large red leafed wreath laid upon the door. He couldn’t quite remember the name of the red leaved plant as Allison had gotten a good number of them and planted them along the driveway leading to the house. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the bright red item as pinecones that smelt of cinnamon were laced with them giving the entryway a very pleasant aroma. Benny lifted his shirt and opened up his hammerspace pulling out his house keys quietly letting himself inside.

The toon was immediately greeted with a warm home full of smells of spices mixed in with sweets as they clashed with each other, yet they worked in harmony. He couldn’t wait to taste whatever Allison was preparing, the thought encouraged him to put his little backpack away in his room before heading into the kitchen.

Allison happily hummed while she folded the dough she had rolled onto the table before slicing it into ribbons. She lifted each ribbon and carefully weaved them over her apple pie she had prepared before hearing little tapping of shoes entering the kitchen. “Welcome home Benny. How was school with the kids today?”  
Benny grabbed onto a chair pulling it out before hopping up on top giving his mom his undivided attention. “It went well! I had them all learning how to sing the scales before we would begin to sing the actual songs. Linda gave me their sheet music so I can better learn the songs to help them.” he beamed at her.

“That’s good. I bet it’s fun singing with the kids. I’m sure LInda is loving the helping hand as I know her students can be a bit energetic, but then again they are children.” Allison smiled warmly at her energetic demon. It was nice to hear that Benny was getting along with the woman’s students as she feared that Benny would be too shy to handle them. She soon found Benny’s floating head hovering over her arms as he was clearly eyeballing her pie to be.

“What are you making?” The inquisitive toon asked before finding himself being lightly nudged away from the pie.

“It’s an apple pie as I have gingerbread cookies already in the oven.” The actress finished pinching off the dough on the edges before setting the pie aside and began to clean up the table all under the watchful eyes of her little demon.

Once the table was cleaned up Allison pulled out a chair and patiently waited for her timer to go off while Benny opened up his hammerspace and pulled out the folder of sheet music. His mother enjoyed the peaceful silence of the kitchen before she felt a slight tug on her arm. Benny held out the folder with a pleading look.

“Can you help me with these?” Benny gave her a hopeful look while Allison took the folder from him and fingered through its contents.

A smile crossed her face as she closed the folder. “Sure, but lets wait till the cookies are done and the pie is in the oven. Ok?”

Benny happily nodded and hopped off the chair reclaiming his folder and headed to the living room where the piano sat. He pulled the bench out and sat upon it patiently while he waited for Allison to finish with the cookies and to put the pie in the oven. He was happy he didn’t have to wait too long as he heard the characteristic ding of the timer and Allison moving the food to and from the stove before setting the timer again. He smile grew wider as he watched his mother set her oven mitt aside before entering the living room.

“All right , lets see what we got.” Allison smiled as she scooted the Benny over sitting down on the bench. Once she was seated Benny promptly placed the folder on the music stand and pulled out a few of the sheets setting them up for her.

Allison looked at the music and after studying them for a moment her fingers began to glide along the ivory keys playing out the music. Benny all the while listening to the music content with their soft yet energetic sounds. He had heard Christmas music on the radio as he rode with Linda to and from the school along with hints of the seasonal music in the stores with Allison, but at the end of the day he preferred the versions that were being played on the piano as they were far softer and more soothing. Allison played each and every song that the toon was going to be teaching the class how to sing before she pointed out the lyrics of the song.

“Now I’m gonna replay all the songs and this time I’m going to sing them. I’d like for you to follow along as best you can.” she gently lifted the toon setting him on her lap so he could see the sheet music better, but also to where she could still use the pedals.

The songs drifted through the home as Allison played the piano and both her and Benny sang the tunes. She was always amazed at how quickly Benny was able to repeat what he heard as he had the songs down very quickly to a point that she had him play the piano himself. He had to take his Ragdoll form in order to hit the pedals properly as well as to reach both sides of the piano. Even the change in size didn’t diminish the toons singing talent, Ragdolls voice was naturally deeper and more masculine than his normal boyish tones, but his sultry voice drifted through the air as he sang. All the months of working with Sammy helped the Ragdoll demon better utilize his voice in his larger form taking his normally garbled and sometimes missmatched tones smoothing them out.

Allison had to chuckle as she could tell Benny was getting into the music as he was singing louder and the stitching on his stomach came undone allowing his stomach mouth to sing with his normal voice in unison. It always warmed her heart to see Benny settle into his comfort zone. He is normally shy and reserved to a point that he needs encouragement on somethings, but to see him take center stage and be confident about it was always rewarding. She couldn’t wait to see the fruits of his labor with the children as he’ll be singing alongside them putting on his first Christmas performance.

The pair practiced together until Tom came home from work which made Benny immediately latch onto the man begging him to watch their performance. While Benny was begging for Tom’s audience Allison slipped away to handle the pie which had finished baking setting it atop the stove and turning off the oven before returning to the living room. All the while Tom had a demonic barnacle, the man wasn’t about to tell the toon ‘no’ so he kicked back on the couch and listened to the little toon’s performance while Allison played the piano. Benny was all grins as he performed for his father figure who was smiling at him, he couldn’t have been happier.

Allison watched Benny’s joy on his face as she and Tom already had planned on attending Benny’s little concert at the school. The toon was under the impression that Tom wouldn’t be able to make it so he was happy to let the man hear his songs at the moment, little did he know that his father had requested the day off solely to see the toon’s first performance as he wasn’t about to let anything in the world deter him. Once Benny finished his last song he took a bow earning a round of applause from his parents and joyous squeaks from him as Allison scooped him up into her arms.

“That was such a good show Benny.” Allison cooed at the toon in her arms with Tom getting up from the couch to lightly pat the demon between his horns.

“Yeah, I can tell you’ve been practicing very hard and you sound great.” the mechanic smiled warmly at his toon.

Benny beamed up as his folks as he couldn’t have been happier. Allison set him down allowing his to retrieve his music sheets before he stared at the lyrics pondering over who they were singing about.

“Allison?” his voice piped up from the piano bench. “Who’s Santa Claus?”

Benny had no clue as to who this man was as they were singing about a red nosed reindeer named Rudolf and a man named Santa who was happy about the deer’s glowing nose, as well as that Santa coming to town. The rest of the songs were about riding in a one horse open sleigh, silver bells as well as walking along in a winter wonderland. Those songs sang about things to do or places to enjoy during the holidays but not about this ‘Santa’ character.

Allison’s eyes grew wide at the toon’s inquiry. It surprised her that Benny hadn’t heard of Jolly old Saint Nick considering all the Christmas songs that the children would be singing but she soon realized that only 2 of Benny’s songs actually sang about the man and even then they didn’t say much about him. She bent down to his eye level grinning at him.

“Santa Claus is a heavy set older gentleman who makes toys in his workshop and then goes all around the world on Christmas eve delivering presents to children on his list. Children that are naughty don’t get any presents from him so it’s an incentive to be on his nice list.”

A gruff voice sounded out from behind her. “Which means you have to behave between now and Christmas or else no presents.” Tom chuckled only to regret his statement as a frown formed on Benny’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m a toon, not a human child. Does that mean I won’t get any presents from Santa cause I’m not human.” The toon looked up at his parents.

“Of course you’ll get presents sweetie.” Allison pulled the toon into a hug. “You’ve been a good boy all year, of course Santa would visit you bringing you gifts. You deserve them.” She smiled with Tom confirming her statement.

A flood of relief washed over Benny as he was happy to hear that Santa would visit him bringing him presents. The image of a heavy set man riding a red sleigh pulling up in front of the house with the man coming through his front door bringing gifts made the toon all the more excited about the holiday. He already enjoyed the quiet family time with his folks during the holiday as well as the gifts that his additional family and friends gave him, but the idea that he’ll get a special visit from the red and white dressed man was the icing on the cake.

Allison and Tom noted the toon’s increased excitement and a plan soon formed between the two of them. The time that Linda had Benny in her care gave Allison and Tom enough time to decorate the home while the toon was away. Seeing Benny come home to a fully decorated house and the Christmas tree brought inside and decorated pot and all made him firmly attach himself to his parents thanking them. He was entranced by the lights on the tree and the sparkle of the bulbs that decorated it. No matter how many times he passed by the tree in his backyard smelling it’s wonderful fragrance, it was something about it being in his home that made it even more special.

Allison and Tom could only share their smiles at seeing Benny acting like an eager child. It warmed their hearts that the toon was so childlike and that the simplest of gestures meant the world to him as he treasured the little things. Seeing him completely smitten with the wonder of the holiday season spurred them to put their plan into action. While Allison helped Benny prepare for his soon to be performance, Tom placed a few phone calls to some of their former staff to come out and to see both Benny and Bendy perform with the children for the first time. The man was eager to share the toon’s moment in the spotlight with their former coworkers who, since their escape, has done their best to help oversee the toons upbringing.

Sammy grumbled about attending, but when he heard that Benny was the one that taught the children how to sing the man was instantly on board, albeit almost too quickly. When asked why he agreed so suddenly, his excuse was that he needed to see how his teachings with Benny translated to the toon’s little pupils and will judge their performance. It was his way of saying that he’ll gladly attend. Norman was all for coming to see the toons perform alongside their little students with Bendy’s Nutcracker and Benny’s concert. The man couldn’t wait to see the boys dressed up doing the very thing that they were designed to do. He warned Tom that he was gonna be carrying tons of film to photograph the boys for the couple with Tom telling him that Allison already raided the market grabbing film.

Wally was more than happy to attend, greatly looking forward to the holiday show. Tom asked him if the man can procure a Santa costume telling him about his plan to surprise the toon. He wanted to have Wally dress as Santa and come down the chimney followed by a bag of some of the toons toys to surprise him. When asked if it was safe to go down the chimney Tom reassured the man that not only was the chimney and fireplace exceptionally large, but he’ll set up a harness to make the trip as safe as possible, that the man would have nothing to worry about. Once Wally’s concerns were laid to rest the man happily agreed and began to look for a santa costume that would fit him.

Susie was a little hesitant to attend, but Allison pleaded with her to come for the boy’s sake. They would be putting on their first show and that sure they would be nervous but seeing people they recognized in the crowd will help quell their fears. She reminded Susie of a time when she too had put on her first show and her nervousness, that the boys would be going through the same emotions. Susie finally sighed agreeing to come show her support for the little devils performances.

Once everyone was contacted and their tickets were mailed to them. Tom and Allison counted down the days until the toon’s performances while making sure Benny was well dressed for his concert. The plushtoon sported a little dark red suit and cap to hide his horns while Allison got him a little makeup to help hide his sepia yellow coloring and stitches. Benny wasn’t keen on the idea of wearing the makeup but was urged to since Yellow isn’t a natural skin color for humans and that he wasn’t alone in the makeup as Bendy had to wear some as well.

The morning of the concert was a bit chaotic as Tom had to pretend to go to work and hid from Benny all the while Allison was trying to get the toon to eat. It turned out that while Benny was initially excited to be performing, he soon became exceedingly nervous as stage fright was beginning to set in. Allison had to repeatedly try and ease the toons growing nerves as the hour drew near for when they needed to head to the school. No matter how much Allison insisted that the toon eat something before getting dressed, he simply had too many butterflies in his stomach to do so.

Allison had no choice but to make sure to pack snacks for him for the aftermath of the concert. She knew that once the concert was over that Benny’s hunger would come roaring back and she needed to be prepared for when that happened. While she packed, Benny was busy getting himself dressed in his little suit they bought him which he got a little help from Allison for the makeup. He lightly moaned about the power being put on his face but knew it was to help him better blend in as there would be many cameras facing him from parents taking photos of their children that would be standing next to him.

Once Benny was all prepared and ready to go Allison loaded him up in the car and took off down the road. The toon frowned as he wished Tom could have joined him, but at least he had Allison there cheering him on. As soon as he saw the school come into sight he would have looked as pale as a sheet if he wasn’t wearing makeup. Allison noted the very rigid movements of the toon as well as his piecut eyes that seemed to have shrunk and encouraged him that everything will be fine and that she’ll be cheering for him all the way.

Linda was having a hard time with Bendy as while the toon was showing more bravado about performing since it was in his nature, he was nervous about actually doing it since it was one thing on the big screen, it was another in reality. Bendy repeatedly had little bits of ink dripping on the side of his face with Linda constantly having to wipe the area and apply more makeup while trying to calm the toon down. She was thankful her classrooms performance was last since it gave the toons a chance to get used to the busy atmosphere of the auditorium.

Benny and Bendy watched some of the other classes performances before them in awe as all the parents greedily snapping photos of their respective child. The toons couldn’t believe how many adults showed up for the schools holiday performance which made the both of them wonder where their own families would be amongst the crowd. Bendy knew LInda would be in front of the class as she was conducting Benny’s concert after they put on their dance to the Nutcracker suite. Bendy’s eyes grew wide when he saw a group of people filing into the auditorium who were quickly fanning out to take up different positions in the hall. The little demon quickly nudged his stitched counterpart earning a soft grumble from Benny before Bendy pointed out who entered the room.

Norman had joined some of the parents who had taken up residence on the floor with various cameras as the projectionist was sporting a rather large camera of his own. It was clear that he was playing the role of ‘cameraman’. Wally soon joined the man with a smaller camera of his own not realizing that Norman had the same idea. Sammy and Susie were in the back of the hall both taking a seat in the middle. Both were looking upon the schedule pamphlets clearly wondering how many performances they would have to endure before their purpose for being there were on stage. Bendy lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw Henry taking a seat down in the front rows. He was under the impression his creator and dad wouldn’t be able to make it since the man was very vague about if he could come. Benny shared an equal look of astonishment to see Allison and Tom taking their seats next to his uncle. He knew Allison was coming but was shocked that Tom was there sitting next to her as he very bluntly told him he couldn’t make it because of his job. Normally the toon would have contemplated at getting the mechanic back for his little stunt, but his sheer excitement at seeing the entirety of his family made him forget his nervousness.

Bendy was up first for his performance with his portion of the students as they all danced to the Nutcracker suite. They all wore little costumes as they danced about the stage performing in time to music earning silent cheers from the audience. Henry and Linda both watched their little toon on stage with equal excitement and joy at Bendy being in his element, dancing. The little toon was performing to the best of his ability along with the students as they put on a very cute show. Norman and Wally’s camera were eagerly following the toons every movement snapping up pictures left and right, hoping to catch that perfect moment. One little girl tripped and was about to cry from her mishap, but Bendy slipped away from his dance routine to quickly pull her up and dance with her to cheer her up and to keep the show going. By the end of the play production the little girl was giggling and Bendy was grinning at the audience that burst into cheers at the end of their show. The students all lined up alongside Bendy with each holding onto the others hands and all took a collective bow before clearing off the stage to allow the next set of performers.

Benny had silently cheered for his counterpart all through his performance and now it was finally his turn. His group was the last set of performers as some portions of the auditorium had thinned out from parents going to retrieve their students from much earlier shows, but he wasn’t about to let that deter him. What mattered was that his family was there to see him and everything else was irrelevant. The toon adjusted his bowtie and motioned to his set of students to follow him as they entered the stage and each stood in their respective places. Linda took up position in front of the students as their conductor while another teacher took up the position on the piano. The teachers looked at each other before glancing over the students with little determined eyes and one set of piecut eyes confirming they were ready to begin.

A chorus of voices drifted through the air singing all the christmas songs that the children had selected. Benny had been selected by the class to be the lead singer as he lead the students throughout their respective pieces. All the while Allison and Tom watched lovingly from their seats at their little demons performance. The couple was truly happy that Benny was able to come out of his shell for the show as his voice was dominating the choir with the students primarily as backup vocals except for a view numbers where they all sang equally. The toon had settled into his comfort zone and he was making sure everyone could hear him. Even some of the families that had come to pick up their children and were about to head home reentered the auditorium to give the choirs music a listen. Sammy was trying his best not to smile but Susie told him she wouldn’t sell him out and the man was all grins. He was happy to see his little student performing so well in front of his first audience and was hoping for more shows in the future.

The last of the voices quieted down so a soft humm as the last song performed was ‘Silent Night’. The children sang softly allowing Benny to be the primary singer for the last song. His voice was soft as it lulled the audience into a sense of peace and calm, the crowds faces were relaxed as they leaned into the music. Once they finished the choir all stepped off their stage lining up alongside Benny holding hands to all take a bow. Linda lined them up and had them file out of the auditorium allowing the school principal to take over the podium thanking all the parents for coming and that they may retrieve their students from the school grounds for them to enjoy their winter break and to have a happy holiday.

Henry, Allison, Tom, Norman, Wally, Susie and Sammy didn’t need to be told twice that it was time to pick up the ‘children’. Henry, Allison and Tom lead the pack as they followed the students outside to gather up their toons. Bendy already had a cluster of children and parents around him as the little girl he helped as giving him a big thank you hug for helping her during the performance. Her parents were eagerly taking pictures of the two together and thanking the toon for his efforts. Benny had a small crowd of girls around him all complementing his singing talent and some were even boasting about how they couldn’t wait till he got older because they’d marry him. Benny would have been completely red faced if the makeup hadn’t hidden his actual coloring. It was a small blessing in disguise.

Tom laughed about Benny’s little collection of fan girls commenting about how the toon was popular with the ladies. Allison was having none of that and promptly relieved the toon of his little crowd with some of the girls moaning that it was time for the little demon to head home. They failed to notice little claws on the tips of Benny’s gloves clinging to his mother. Allison felt the little hints of his claws, but she could tell he was being careful and it was his way of letting her know he didn’t want to go anywhere near his little adoring fans. Tom could only laugh at the toons koala response to Allison until Benny was handed over to the man for which the toon didn’t mind digging his claws in him a little. Tom grumbled about having to hold onto a little plush cactus.

Henry gently retrieved Bendy from his little fan club telling the kids that Bendy had to go home and for them to enjoy the holidays. The animator chuckled at the students wishing his wife a Merry Christmas before their parents shuffled them on to the vehicles to make their journeys home.

Wally, Norman, Sammy and Susie all huddled around the toons happily congratulating them on their stellar performance earning bashful expressions from the both of them. Wally and Norman happily showed off their collection of film rolls with both families thanking them for their efforts. Allison and Linda both looked forward to seeing the results of their photo shoots. Susie joined the ladies as they retrieved the toons from Tom and Henry and they all gushed over the performance of the toons leaving the men to socialize amongst each other.

“Oh! Tom.” Wally gingerly walked up to the man. “I got what you asked for.”

A big grin split the mans face. “Really? That’s great.” He patted Wally on the back.

“What are you up to?” Norman crossed his arms raising a brow at Tom and Wally eagerly scheming between each other.

Tom motioned for the group of guys to come closer to better hear him for which Sammy rolled his eyes, but Henry dragged him over. Tom laid out his plans for his little surprise he wanted to pull off for Benny. He planned on setting up a harness for Wally, who would dress as Santa Claus, and go down the chimney to surprise Benny with some of his presents. The toon was looking forward to the holiday so he figured that he might as well add in a little fun along the way.

Sammy instantly bowed out saying he wanted no part of the mechanics scheme claiming that he already had plans for the holidays for which Norman commented about how the former music director and a certain little former angel actress were gonna spend the holiday together. The man turned beet red in a mix of embarrassment and anger but didn’t dare yell for fear of drawing the women to them, he uttered a few curses and left it at that. Henry too had to tell Tom that he wasn’t gonna be available for the holidays this year as his daughter had invited them to spend Christmas with her and the new grandbaby. Concerns were raised about how she may react to Bendy for which Henry laughed and told them that when they were comfortable and told her about him, she moved heaven and earth to get to their home to meet him. She was raving about wanting to meet her ‘older brother’ as she viewed the toons as a sort of sibling after she grew up seeing Henry’s short of Bendy playing with a little baby.

Norman didn’t mind helping out as he’d do anything to see a smile on the toon’s faces, however, he wondered if going down a chimney was a smart idea. Questions had been raised about how safe it was to pull off such as stunt with Thomas telling him that the fireplace and Chimney were larger then the ones he’d normally seen and that a person can easily go down it with no issues as he’s had to go in a few times to clean it. He especially questioned it when he recalled how Benny handled the would-be burglars that attempted to rob Janice’s home. Tom instantly waved away the mans concerns telling him that Benny would be excited about Santa coming and had nothing to worry about. Norman shrugged and closeted his concerns when Wally eagerly hug off the man boasting about how they were gonna have so much fun for which the group promptly had to shut him up once the women were drawn to the groups lively chatter.

Benny wished Bendy farewell and good luck on his trip to see his sibling and to give the grandbaby a hug for him. Bendy was excited about the baby but then realized how fragile a human is let alone a baby and froze up. He feared that he would hurt the baby by merely touching her and Benny had to reassure his counterpart that he had nothing to worry about. He isn’t the monster he likes to think he is as he already plays with human children no problem, one little baby wouldn’t be any different. Bendy relaxed at Benny’s words and wished his counterpart a farewell and that he’ll see him after they get back from their trip.

The toons were rounded up and everyone bid each other farewell and Merry Christmas with hugs all around and a red Sammy. The man yowled about the hugs, but soon found himself tackled by two demons earning more irate screeches from him as the parents had to pull the toons off him. Allison cooed with Benny happily squeaking in her arms when she told him about all the cookies and treats she was gonna make at home as she pried him off Sammy. The actress headed on home ahead of Tom leaving him to finalize the plans he had in store for his little demon with his co conspirators while Sammy beat a hasty retreat and headed home with Susie. Henry wished him luck for he and Linda headed on home with Bendy in tow.

\--------- Early Christmas Morning ----------

Allison had yet to stir as the early morning had arrived. Tom was thankful his wife had spent a good chunk of her day and night making cookies and food for the day. It would make his plans to surprise Benny all the easier if she wasn’t in the way. He had already taken the liberty of setting up the ladder on the side of the house so they would have an easy access to the roof and now all he had to do was wait for Norman and Wally to show up. Though he had to admit he was getting nervous as the sun hadn't risen yet and Allison was an early riser. He hoped that she wouldn’t get up and ruin their fun.

He peered over the edge of the couch to see Benny curled up sound asleep. The little demon had tried to stay up for Santa so he could see him, but passed out shortly after laying down on the bed. A wide grin spread across his face as he couldn’t wait to see the little demons reaction to Santa coming out the chimney with toys. Of course part of him knew that Wally wouldn’t be able to keep him mouth shut and blow his cover revealing who he is, and he was fine with that. The element of surprise to him was worth more than having to explain the realities behind Santa and parents waking at unholy hours to place gifts.

The curtains by their front door briefly flashed catching Tom’s attention. The lights flickered a few times letting him know Norman and Wally had arrived. They didn’t dare use their car horn for fear of waking Benny and opted to use their high and low beams of their headlights to send the message that they were there.

Tom quietly paced to the front door letting himself out leaving it unlocked before greeting his friends. “Good morning.” he beamed at the van with the two men stepping out.

“Likewise.” Norman eased himself out of the driver's seat stretching briefly before giving Tom a welcoming hug.

“Got ya Santa costume!” Wally happily shouted waving a large bag with both Tom and Norman quickly shushing the man.

“Jesus Christ boy, th’ ‘hole point is t’ surprise th’ boy in th’ costume, not t’ wake ‘em up beforehand.” Norman scowled at the now sheepish janitor.

Tom then looked at the bag and then back at Wally. “How come you aren’t wearing the costume? I figured you’d come already in it.”

Wally then gazed at Norman “Well Norman suggested that we try to see if I can even fit down the chimney first before attempting to put the costume on.”

“Better t’ be safe than sorry.” Norman added in. “Cause if Wally don’ fit, then you or I gotta ‘ear th’ costume since we’re smaller than ‘im.”

Tom crossed his arms in contemplation. “You have a point there. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that as I will have a lot of explaining to do. Grant you I gotta explain things anyways, but it’s easier to do it if I don’t have a big fake beard on.”

The group of men chuckled at the image of the gruff and rough around the edges Tom attempting to be all jolly which was a horrific sight in their eyes as jolly and Tom are two words that don’t belong next to each other. Tom waved away their laughter at the thought and motioned for them to get a move on as they didn’t know when Allison or Benny may stir. Tom showed them the ladder he had already set up before ascending with Wally and Norman in tow. Wally was surprised to see a harness and safely ropes already established with Tom commenting about how he had already set everything up to keep their noise making to a minimum, even the gifts that were to accompany them had been brought up. He wanted the sounds of them going down the chimney to be what wakes Benny rather then them scurrying around on the roof attempting to set everything up.

Tom and Norman helped Wally into the safety gear and then had the man ease himself over the edge of the chimney with Norman already deadpanning at the sight. “Ya don’ fit.”

Wally chuckled looking at his girth with Tom also scowling at this revelation. “How much did you say you weighed?” Tom looked at the former janitor.

“Well I did put on some weight.” the man chuckled with his small laughs causing his stomach to jiggle like jello. “I guess it will be either you or Norman going down then.”

Norman instantly pointed at Tom. “I ain’t goin’ cause I can already see where this is goin’.” Tom was about to raise a voice in protest when Norman put his foot down. “Yer kid, yer show.”

Tom opened and closed his mouth a few times before a groan escaped him as he ran his hands down the sides of his face. There was no arguing with Norman whatsoever. He glanced at the bag that Wally had set aside and grumbled. “Fine. Gimmie the stupid bag.”

Wally handed over the bag so Tom can put the costume on while Norman helped the former janitor out of his harness. Wally tripped and fell on the rooftop with both Tom and Norman scolding the man to be a little more careful. All the while the sound of Wally’s stumbling and his fall had woken a little occupant within the home.

Benny blearily blinked the sleep out of his eyes as he was awoken by strange noises from above. The toon looked up towards the ceiling in confusion as to the noises he was hearing and carefully listened, hoping it was just a tree branch and not something else. However he heard a set of muffled voices coming from the direction of the fireplace as little bits of dust seemed to rain down from above. Anger swiftly swept over the toon. Someone was trying to break into his house! He growled softly as he got up from the couch taking on his Ragdoll form and paced over to the fireplace. He cautiously peeked his head in the chimney only to better hear a voice telling whoever was on the other end to slowly lower him down.

Tom looked back at Norman and Wally fully clothed and sporting the harness. “All right gents, carefully lower me down and then follow up with the bag.” earning nods from both men as they grasped onto the ropes preparing to help lower their friend.

Tom slowly eased himself into the mouth of the chimney with a small flashlight for emergencies as well as to help him see down the throat of the chimney. He felt the ropes become taught as Norman and Wally shouldered his weight and he slowly made his descent.

A grin graced Tom’s face as he couldn’t wait to see the look on Benny’s face, the little toon would be so excited. His cheer and enthusiasm diminished as he heard strange shuffling sounds below him prompting him to cautiously grab a hold of his light and directed the beam below him. His eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets when he saw a gaping maw waiting for him as the chimney was lined with massive yet familiar white teeth with bits of dripping ink on their edges. Ragdoll! Fear washed over Tom like a wave as he realized that Benny was not taking their coming down the chimney like a happy child and was on the defensive. He looked like he wanted to eat him!

“Pull me up, pull me up!” Tom all but screamed at Norman and Wally with his slow decent instantly coming to a halt.

Norman and Wally both turned pale at Tom’s screams to be pulled up and frantically began to tug on the ropes to pull up their friend. Something had gone wrong and Tom needed help. However the pair above failed to realize that the demon below had other plans.

Ragdoll loudly growled at the intruder in his families chimney, and now this guy was trying to escape! Not on his watch. Ragdoll moved himself out of his position in the fireplace and motioned for his threads to extend and sent his hands up the chimney. After some light fishing around he finally found the now panicking worm on the hook as his hands secured both legs of his intruder and began to pull.

If Tom was panicking before then he was on overdrive. He had hoped that once he was pulled out that Benny would back off, but upon feeling the demons large hands grab both his legs, that hope was dashed in an instant. Benny wasn’t backing off, and if anything, was pulling his prey towards him. He was now a worm on a hook dangling before a very angry fish. Norman and Wally struggled to pull Tom upwards before realizing that Benny was awake and was on the attack.

Memories of Janice’s words about Benny taking on his Ragdoll form to defend the elderly home flashed in Norman's mind as he quickly glanced at Wally struggling alongside him to pull Tom up. “I gotta go.”

“W-What?” Wally gaped at the man before Norman dropped the ropes and ran for the ladder with Wally calling out to him.

Tom felt the tugs to pull him up were dying as Benny was clearly overpowering Norman and Wally. The demon was far stronger than a man as he was feeling the demon pulling him downwards. He briefly heard Wally shouting something before he felt the final tug as Benny pulled him completely down and out the fireplace.

Ragdoll dragged a figure out of his fireplace and threw the man onto the floor roaring at him with both mouths at point blank. He wanted to instill fear into this man before knocking him out as he was getting ready to deliver a solid knockout blow to the stomach.

“B-Benny! Wait It’s me!!!” the red and white clothed man was frantically waved his arms as he was pulling off a large white material that resembled a beard off his very familiar face.

**“T-ToM?!”** Ragdolls singular eye was as wide as a dinner plate as he looked down at his father figure who was frantically waving his hands.

Before Benny had the time to process what was going on Norman burst through the front door. “Wait Benny! Don’t hurt him, it’s Thomas!” The man's voice died as he saw Tom laying on the floor beneath Benny with the ragdoll demon standing above him with a clear look of shock and confusion.

“What on earth is going on here?!” another voice bellowed across the room as all eyes turned to see a very angry Allison stomping her foot in the doorway with her arms folded and looking very cross.

Everyone looked around at each other at a clear loss as to what to say to the irate actress who’s looks demanded an answer. Before any of them were able to get in so much as a word, Wally burst through the front door.

“Tom are you ok?!” he shouted before his eyes met Allisons and his bravado and concern for his friend died in to a mere squeak.

Not wanting to be under Allison’s scornful gaze, Benny instantly pointed a finger at Tom. **“He WaS cOmInG dOwN tHe ChImNeY aNd I tHoUgHt SoMeOnE wAs BrEaKiNg In.”**

Cold angry eyes fell upon Tom as Allison glared at him. “Well?”

“Thomas was tryin’ t’ serpris’ yer boy there Mrs. Allison.” Norman spoke up. “He wanted t’ have Wally ‘ere dress as Santa and come down th’ chimney to give yer boy his Christmas gifts. Wally couldn’ fit, so Tom had t’ go down. We didn’ think that Benny would get defensiv’. We thought he’d be a happy boy.”

Allison sighed while rubbing her temples to school in her temper. “Well I can see he thought you were breaking and entering.” She looked at her husband who had picked himself off the floor. “What on earth made you think this was a good idea?”

Tom looked sheepish at his wife as her words sunk in. “I just wanted to surprise Benny for Christmas. Since he liked Santa I thought having jolly old saint nick come down the chimney would be a delightful surprise for him. I never thought he’d react this way.”

Ragdoll looked down at his father figure with surprise. Tom just wanted to make the day special for him, even if it spiraled out of control the way it did. The demon dumped the excess ink reverting back to his normal form with Benny now looking up at his father.

“I already had a feeling Santa wasn’t real.” the toons words drawing his father's attention. “I liked the idea of a jolly man delivering presents, but there is no way one guy can visit everyone in a single night unless it’s the parents delivering the presents. I stayed up to try and confirm my suspicions, but I was too tired and fell asleep.” the demon gave a small warm smile. “I’m thankful you tried anyways to make the holiday even more special.”

Tom found Benny giving him a hug while a look of shock was on his own face before it morphed to content returning the hug. Benny already knew and if anything was even more elated that he had at least tried. A glance at his wife seeking forgiveness from her was met with soft eyes and a tired hint of a smile.

“Well even though you did something stupid. What mattered was you were trying to make Benny happy. I guess I can forgive you.” She lightly laughed before approaching and giving her husband a hug. “And besides, Santa baby.” she laughed before pulling his fake beard back over his face. “I’ve been an angel all year, so what did you bring us?”

Benny instantly giggled at his mother’s affections towards a now stunned Tom with the man sputtering at his wife's actions. Norman laughed while Wally cheered before they retreated out the home to grab the gifts that had been left behind. While the pair was gone Allison and Tom shared a tender kiss before it was interrupted with Ragdoll bringing them both in for a hug.

Tom initially scowled at the toon’s interference before it gave away to a content grin. He had to admit while things didn’t exactly work as planned, seeing Benny’s happy face as Wally and Norman came in with their presents as well as the toons gratitude towards his family and friends made his holiday worth while.

Merry Christmas everyone~

**Author's Note:**

> oh boy. Tom sure tried, but he forgets one little rule: Never break into a demon's home.


End file.
